Mealworm farming

[Kassaundra]

Quote:
me too...

ok we keep the rooms we're in most of the time at 64 (bedroom, living room) but the rest of the house is 50-55

I would freeze smooth to death! I carry my coat to work w/ me year round (even during our 110 degree summers) b/c my workmates love the AC.

 

[hannakat]

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Hi vclark321! Shedding is GOOD! Means they're growing and growing. It won't be long until you start seeing the pupae now. When they stop shedding and eating, they'll be ready. Are they close to full grown?

The time it takes for them to develop is mostly determined by the tempurature. The warmer your house, the faster they develop. My house is around 70-71 all the time so it takes a while for them to make it from beetle stage to beetle stage. They will always continue to grow even in at 40 degrees, but it'll be r-e-a-l slow. At 100 degrees....me thinks there would be a mealie explosion but I'll never know cause we don't get that kind of weather in PA without high humidity so they can't be outdoors without the risk of mold and mites.

Don't know if my rambling helps you or not but just keep asking questions and let us know when they start pupating!

 

[hannakat]

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Great update yankeefan!!

 

[TedJan92_in_Idaho]

I know mealworms aren't carnivors but has anyone tried feeding them meat. I have a tub that I am putting elk meats scrap in. Seems they just suck the moisture out of it.

 

[zzGypsy]

Quote:
me too...

ok we keep the rooms we're in most of the time at 64 (bedroom, living room) but the rest of the house is 50-55

I would freeze smooth to death! I carry my coat to work w/ me year round (even during our 110 degree summers) b/c my workmates love the AC.

Ha!
yep I'm a bit of a polar bear

I heat up the moment I move. all I have to do is go from my desk to the kitchen (about 30 feet) and I heat enough to take my sweater off. it's 46 outside and I'm good in my t-shirt as long as I'm in motion and the wind isn't blowing

does explain why the mealy drawer needed a heater though...

 

[onafixedincome]

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Elk meat scraps! Are there such things??

My dog says there shouldn't be ANY scraps when SHE is done...

Seriously, the mealies are pretty limited to grains with the exception of cannibalising dead bugs (I doubt they'd stop at their own--earwigs, now...try feeding them THOSE--if they eat those, I'm in love!).

Feeding them meat sounds like a kinda icky way to make jerky, if you ask me...

But I do suppose that 'moisture' from meat is likely to be more loaded with good little bits of nutrients than plain water or celery, for instance...

(Update on bin: 200 beetles!, a load of pupae, and about 2500 larva yet to pupate....and a quail d'Anvers that thinks that the world has ended if she doesn't get her treats each day!

~~~

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[hannakat]

Quote:
That isn't something I would do but it's fascinating to hear what others are doing. I'm assuming it's raw...so they're kinda drinking blood? Do the wormies turn darker? I only ask because not long ago, after not feeding the wormies for 2 days, I gave them broccoli stems and DH and I both thought they had a 'green' tint to them afterwards....seriously!!!


onafixedincome ~ (Update on bin: 200 beetles!, a load of pupae, and about 2500 larva yet to pupate....and a quail d'Anvers that thinks that the world has ended if she doesn't get her treats each day!

Awesome!! I have a RIR who will track me down looking for mealies!

 

[Emily1220]

Onafixedincome...200 BEETLES???? Holy moly, thats alot of bugs!! *I'm soooo jealous!!* I have ONE pupae and I check on him every day and sometimes I think he moves a tiny bit, but I think I just WANT him to move, so therefore he IS moving! LOL!! But honestly, I think its dead. It has been over a week and he was in the batch when I bought them. But he's still white so I am hoping for the best. I got lots of shedding going on in my drawer!

 

[onafixedincome]

It's really wierd...I sort through my bins almost daily--completely moving every bit to look for deads and pupae. Do you guys REALIZE that half the attraction on these was the 'feed it and leave it' aspect? And now I can't leave them alone!

Sheeze!

200 actually isn't that many, although I didn't think I had as many as I did in my pupae patch. I caught a couple of the beetles munching on pupae, so decided to move them out to their own digs, and thought as long as I was moving them, I might as well count 'em as I went.

Just about 200 and more on the way.

As the pupae develop, you can see the eye spots slowly show up dark, then the legs, then the wing cases. The top of the 'head' part (actually their middle section or 'shoulders' turns a nice toasty brown and then you wake up to this odd thing with a pale beige body and nut-brown head end. Oh, and legs. Six of those.

So keep an eye on your pupa. If he's dead, he'll turn a mucky brown and dry up or go black.

I don't hesitate to handle the pupae much--I sift through for beetles I can't readily see every couple of days. Gently, of course, just running my fingers through the pupae and thin layer of substrate they're on/in.

Patience!

(yeah yeah patience. How long does that take?

)

 

[vclark321]

Yes, it has been as cold as 50 degrees, but with menopause I would rather have it colder than warmer.

I bundle up and heat the room I am in. The mealies look great and are getting bigger every day, so I just need more patience! Then when I am outside in 26 degree weather 55 degrees seems so warm! My electric bill is almost non-existant since I don't use my dryer either. I have more money to spend on chickens!